Table of Contents

Postings

Pell Grants remain in jeopardy, impacting vulnerable low-income studentsStudent debt is hitting record highs and low-income students already graduate with the most debt. Yet some in Congress are planning to raid Pell Grant funds to spend them on other programs. These Pell funds are reserved to help make sure the most financially vulnerable college students don't have to borrow even more. Pell Grants are essential for providing low- and middle-income students the opportunity to attend and complete college, and pursue careers in an economy that increasingly requires a postsecondary education.

Enough with the sneaky and harmful policy ridersAppropriations bills continue to be misused to undermine essential consumer and environmental safeguards through poisonous policy riders. Enough is enough! Advocates are asking Congress to oppose any FY 2018 bills that contain controversial riders regarding unpopular and dangerous initiatives that would otherwise never pass on their own.

Fiduciary rule should extend to non-retirement accounts tooThe Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule requires anyone providing investment advice regarding retirement accounts to avoid recommendations that create conflicts of interest. But why isn’t the rule applied to non-retirement investment accounts as well? In a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission, advocates press for broader protections for investors, including a best interest standard for all personalized investment recommendations.

Caller ID authentication provides protection against illegal and unwanted callsThe Federal Communications Commission (FCC) acknowledges that consumers get an unacceptably high volume of calls that can annoy or defraud. One particularly disturbing category is spoofed robocalls where the caller ID is a fake, hiding the caller's true identity. Consumer advocates applaud the FCC’s rollout of proposed new rules that aim to stop spoof calls and believe implementing caller ID authentication will aid the agency's attempt to curb robocall scams.

The FHFA should make mortgages more accessible to people with LEPIn 2014, approximately 25.3 million individuals, roughly 9 percent of the U.S. population, were considered limited English proficient (LEP). Despite this sizable need and opportunity, the language needs of many current and potential homeowners are left unmet in the mortgage marketplace.

Consumer groups call on House to oppose pyramid scheme promotion amendmentA broad coalition of consumer advocacy organizations is calling on the House of Representatives to oppose efforts to weaken the Federal Trade Commission’s ability to protect consumers from fraudulent pyramid schemes. An amendment offered by Congressman John Moolenaar (R-MI) was added to the House Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill, which would eliminate long-standing requirements that direct selling companies establish a viable retail business instead of relying on a churning base of new recruits.

Raiding of Pell Grant funds will hurt millions of low-income studentsForty organizations representing students, consumers, colleges, workers and more urged House appropriators to oppose the $3.3 billion rescission from Pell Grants included in the FY 2018 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill. The current maximum Pell Grant covers less than one-third of the cost of attending a four-year public college – the lowest share in more than 40 years. And absent Congressional action, FY18 will be the first time in six years that the grant will not even increase to keep pace with inflation.

Once again, Trump favors for-profit college industry over defrauded studentsThe Trump Administration’s decision to delay and dismantle key student and taxpayer protections against fraudulent for-profit schools is terrible news for struggling student borrowers and a boon for the for-profit college industry. Student, consumer, and veterans' organizations wrote to the Department of Education denouncing its decision to delay and weaken the borrower defense and gainful employment regulations because they protect both students and taxpayers from waste, fraud, and abuse.